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By "The Extractor."
He Laughs Best Who Laughs Last.
Barton of Beeston, as he is universally called, is of modest mien, but the more you talk with him the better you realize that he has a brain that is always at work, He is never dismased by failure, realizing to the full the truth of that well-known adage " Difficulties exist only to be overcome." When he was experimenting -with coal-gas for vehicles, it was often a. matter of jocular speculation by his neighbours as to whether his motor would reach the next lamp-post. Ha smiles reminiscently now at the recollection of a _Nottingham gentleman calling him into his office to recommend him, as a friend, to stop the foolishness with coal-gas because it was making him "the laughing stock of the town." 'Twas ever the fate of pioneers.
Early Benzole. • Barton was at the Demonstration, unobserved by the majority, but I induced him to talk a little. He tells me that he was driving a motor on the road near Grantham before the Act -came into force. Naturally, he out-distanced his man with the red flag and was summoned on two or three occasions, but was never fined. As I am a benzole enthusiast, it interested me mucn to hear that ne used teat spirit successfully in the early clays of motoring. He was stranded at Poole, Dorset, with a two-cylinder Daimler for want of petrol. At an adjacent oil shop he founda 40-gallon d.um f eenzole which had been brought from Rolland for removing paist. (Present-day benzole retains that characteristic, as most of us know ') There had been no sale for this stuff, and it was offered him at a very low price to clear it out. It had to be tried first, however. To his joy it was an instant success. Then the bargaining commenced, and, I believe, it changed i hands at about 6d. a gallon with the drum thrown n.
Char-a-Banes History.
Barton tried hard in the early days to make money out of 7 h.p. motors as passenger vehicles, but barely succeeded. He predicted to the manufacturers, and was greatly laughed at, that nothing short of 30 h.p. • for 30 passengers would be adequate, and, according to his recollection, the DurharreChurchill was the first British-made char-k-banes to carry a requisite number of people to make the thing pay.
Lost Opportunities.
"Folks who never do any more than they get paid for never get paid for any more than they do.' During a brief wait in Mr. Jacket's office at Commer Cars, Luton, I noticed the above excellent precept on • the wall. I believe such mottoes come mostly from America, and they express suecintly the aliveness of that nation. How often one. hears juniors, and seniors, for the matter of that, say "I am not paid to do such and such a job, and I'm not dOing it." Thus, the opportunity for showing one's versatility slios by, and, when the inevitable vacancy occurs, it is incomprehensib)e to the " left-overs" how it all comes about. Excuse the moralizing !
On the Roof.
The curiosity excited by the Wood-Milne rubber gas cylinders is intense. I should think they must be snowed under by this time with inquiries. The impression I have gained is that it is considered it will be better to fix the cylinder or cylinders on the roof of the van, hotel bus, or cab as the case may be. They will then be out of the way if any collision should befall. Some people see visions of using these on shooting expeditions through the coming winter, but it will be as well not to build too much on that, desir
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able as it may be. There is the very real difficulty of comp esseig tue gas, and in most parts of the country the abseece of compressing plant, but, all the same, these developments are vastly interesting.
Still They Come. • ()narks Macintosh and 'Co., Ltd., of Manchester, are very busy with a rubber cylinder on entirely dinerens lines from the one mentioned above. With their immense resources, it wid be most interesting to see this production,. which is promised in a very short time. It be possible to get compressed gas in differeat Nuts of the country, it will be an easy matter to arrange for stations to exchange one spent cylinder for a newly-charged one, especially if the size be standai clized. s Village Changes.
T.he majos portion of the front cover of this journal was g.ven over last a eek to a line drawing impression ot au idlhc English village. The farm wagon' horsedrawn, uelps the old-world, effect, the Roca of sheep, the small boy, certainly not going to school because he is runni.ig. He is evidently attracted by what looks, at first like a pacifist meeting, and is taking a traffic risk that is inducing bad language from the omnibus driver. It really is a crowd round a char-abanes without a gas bag, and the simple villagers are wondering how it can be managed these days. There are motor lorries, too, wending their why. By an odd coincidence one of the " C.M. staff received a picture postcard a few days ago of this very place. It tales sestiu oe Dennam, ±n rent, Out aat.t have been snapped in the last century because there is not a, sign or a motor anywhere. It appears since to have developed into a motoring centre. We must KOEOL —otherwise "keep our eye on Lenham."
Petrol Distribution.
0 NE OF THE things which will have to be 'different after the war is the method of handsing and tie distribution of petrol and otner fuels. This matter is being dealt with to-day ex, actly as it was 15 years ago and more, arid whilst the system, no doubt, served its purpose reasonably well when it was introduced, the whole conditions of motoring have altered, and it is inadequate and expensive at the present time. We refer, of course, to the distribution of petrol in the universal two-gallon tins.
In the beginning of motoring petrol was supplied in tins of all sorts of sizes and shapes, but the introduction of the present size and type of tin by the oil refiners standardized this matter in a convenient form. This was all very well when comparatively small quantities of petrol were required and the system is clean, convenient and handy. But it is very expensive. There is loss in handling and repair of tins.
The system of underground storage and measuring i pumps s practically universal in the U.S. to-day, and, although entailing some initial expense in installation of plant, it is safe, avoids wastage and is exceedingly convenient; whilst the wholeeale suppliers are 'able to fill the tanks in bulk from tank wagons at a less cost than here.
These means of distribution and handling 'would result in reduced cost to everybody concerned, the customer included, and we hope that the .benzole distributors, when they get to work, and the alcohol distributors, if they enter the field, will set a lead of their 'Own in this matter and not slavishly follow the example. of their competitors.